Everything Coffee

Coffee obviously has become an essential part of many people’s life. A hot cup of coffee can do wonders. But do you know that more than just a daily hot caffeine fix, coffee has tons of benefits and uses? Experts already found out more and more amazing benefits of coffee, not just making you active, but it can also help you live healthy and attractive.

Your next question would, how? I only used to drinking a hot cup of coffee and I’m not quite sure how it can help me more. The main secret is, using the essential oil of coffee. In order to give you the best ideas about how you can take advantage of the coffee essential oil, here is some more information for you.

Coffee Essential Oil

Just like any other amazing essential oils, coffee oil is also proven to deliver tons of healing and relaxation. But how exactly can you make or get the coffee’s essential oils? There are obviously some ready to use coffee oils that you can buy from the market, but you can also have a good time of making your own. Making coffee essential oil would only require you to combine the olive oil and coffee bean in a pot and cook it in low heat for at least 6 hours. Then filter the coffee residue to have clearer and homemade coffee oil.

The use of coffee essential oil brings you lots of benefits such as an anti-oxidant, an amazing aromatherapy, a good cleanser and a whole lot more. Coffee oils can kick your stress away, combining it with other aromatherapy oils like lavender and peppermint. You can create a relaxing and invigorating room. It can also help to cleanse and deodorize an area. You can either use a diffuser or drop some coffee oils on a cotton ball and put in a room. You can also maintain a healthy and youthful skin by mixing the coffee oil on your shower gel or on your bath tub.

Coffee Benefits

You are definitely aware of the most common benefits of coffee. It can keep you stay active and a good antioxidant. Some beauty conscious women would even use coffee as a perfect body scrub, leaving a smooth and toxic-free skin. Coffee can also give flavor to our food. There are tons of recipes that actually use coffee to add a good caffeine fix to the food. Coffee is also considered as an effective anti-depressant. It can help to calm your system down and relieve whatever stress you’re feeling.

With all these benefits of coffee, you also have to be sure about using the oil. You have to remember that unlike sipping a hot cup every day, coffee essential oil should not be taken internally, especially if you’re using it for babies or for pregnant women. There might be cases that essential oils should be taken orally, but that will be with a recommendation and guidance of a health professional.

In Conclusion

Whether you wanted to drink a tasty hot cup of coffee or you simply use the best coffee oil, one thing is for sure, it will absolutely bring you healing and relaxation. Get more ideas how you can take advantage more from your favorite hot beverage – the coffee!

Coffee drinkers received good news when a recent Harvard study shows the health benefits of drinking coffee every day. They point out some of its health effects such as how caffeine might help reduce the risk of diabetes and other liver problems.

However, before your coffee gets into your cup, do you have any idea about the challenges that many coffee plantations have to overcome? Keeping the coffee plantation from any outside threat is very crucial. Especially with the numbers of predators lurking around that might cause damage to coffee berries before they are even ready for harvest.

Reptiles, bugs and any other herbivore are just around the corner. And that’s something that coffee plantation owner has to consider.

Ecosystem Challenge

The world is naturally made with a perfect ecosystem. Animals on top of the food chain are made to eat and devour the ones at the bottom. But is that even possible when you’re running a coffee plantation? Obviously not! As much as you can, you want to protect the coffee plants from predators like reptiles, insects and other coffee lover animals. You have to beat the challenge of this natural ecosystem or you’ll end up losing some big amount of money.

Predators on the Plantation

This is but common for any kind of plantation. As long as there’s something to eat, predators will absolutely swarm around. Animals like reptiles, birds and bugs should really be kept away from the area. Many plantations experience loss. Ripening coffee berries are very enticing to some animal species and even for smallest bugs. Thus, during those times, make sure that you do the necessary actions to keep them away.

Ways to Keep them Away

Before you lose millions of dollars with your coffee plantation, make sure that you already learn some ways on how to keep them away. There are many traditional ways of doing that. And there are also some modern and less stressful ways to save your plantation from becoming a food source to some animals around.

First is that you can still cling to the power of the ecosystem. That means that you can use some animal species or birds to guard the plantation. You probably have to do some research about what animals to use to help you reduce the threat that lurks around. Some uses insect-eating birds to devour the most coffee damaging pests and beetles.

Next is you can use some high tech gadgets to stop animals like bearded dragons, beetles, monkeys and many from getting closer to the area. Some of these gadgets are sometimes emitting irritating signal, sound or light to animals. Just like the traditional scarecrow, these devices will scare them away and will stop them from coming back.

There are many other ways for you to keep these reptiles and other animals away from the coffee plantations. You probably have to consult some professionals if you need more help. Remember that there’s really no room for losses. Keep in mind the many people that are waiting for their delicious hot coffee every day. Craving for their caffeine kicks before they go and conquer the world!

Do you know the modern craze? Its loosing that extra weight. And there is a good reason for doing that. First of all, its a healthy habit to keep. Are you aware that obesity is the number one cause of death in the modern world? It is the number one cause of diabetes, heart failure, hyper tension and stroke. Scary but true. Statistics has proven time and time again that obesity is deadly and that loosing weight is important.

But are you aware that there is a beverage that has been used since time immemorial for fresh fitness but is also effective in loosing weight? Since the time of the Greeks who are crazy about personal training, coffee has served as the beverage of choice. Yes in fact, in the Middle East, you are considered inhospitable if you don’t server coffee to your guess.

The caffeine in coffee has been a proven stimulant that increases your metabolism and consequently help you loose weight. How much coffee do you need depends on your appetite for it. There are those who can consume four mugs a day and they are fine with it. There are also others who can only consume a small dose and they can already feel some tingling in their fingertips. Here are ways coffee can help you loose weight:

Boosting your metabolism. When you drink coffee, you ingest caffeine which jumpstart the process of releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream. This is called lipolysis which breaks down the body’s stored fats and convert them to energy. This means that coffee boosts you metabolism and burns fats at the same time.

Caffeine is a stimulant that’s been proven effective in removing drowsiness. This means that it enables you to perform certain tasks at extended periods. This does not only include mental tasks but physical tasks as well. This means that when you take coffee, you can study or read a book for extended periods and you can workout for extended periods. The net result for this is weight loss.

A Little Warning

Although coffee has been proven effective in weight loss, there are some side effects. If you plan to sleep well, try to reduce your coffee intake as it will keep you awake if you take an overdose of it. If you suffer from palpitation, reduce your intake to since coffee is a stimulant, it will make your heart beat faster. It will make you jittery followed by a host of symptoms like nausea. If you take caffeine from a sugary drink, this can also increase your blood sugar which may cause diabetes. So even if you are used to drinking coffee, you can still experience overdose with it. Take your coffee with care and you will reap its benefits. But if you are not careful, it can also be harmful to your health.

Coffee has been proven to be effective in helping you lose weight but just be careful with its side effects.

The benefits of coffee is beyond argument and its popularity is confirmed by people from all walks of life. Every person who seriously wants to accomplish something out of their day would testify to the energy boost that coffee gives when you wake up early in the morning drowsy and half asleep. To most of us, it is our high octane fuel that propels us to tackle the hardest of challenge and to stay motivated when facing the most boring ones. In short, coffee is our perk up drug of choice.

Whether you’re considering on changing your current packaging of deciding on how to package a new product, the primary consideration is how the appearance help put it forward. And by forward, it means really ahead of your competition. Packaging plays a great role is the success or failure of a product since it serves as its banner whereby the customers identify it. Here are some of the ways that proper packaging and branding help sell coffee according to Speed Pro Marketing.

Function of Packaging and Branding

Aside from protecting the product from damage during transport, packaging with the brand name nicely printed on it gives it the identity which buyers are looking for. It gives the idea that the product is something of quality since the manufacturer really took the time package it well and put their name on it. When the product is unbranded and the packaging is not well thought out, it gives the idea of being cheaply produced and hence, not of good quality.

Buyer Attraction

Since buyers identify with a good branding, your coffee will instantly connect when it’s well packaged and well branded. Let’s face it, we are easily attracted when the graphics of the brand is nicely done. When it attracts the eyes, it creates in you the desire to buy and try it. On the other hand, a coffee product that doesn’t have a nice branding will have a hard time connecting to its potential buyers.

Product Promotion

Packaging and branding puts the product forward like no other form of advertisement can even accomplish. It contains instructions on how to brew the coffee for instance, creating a psychological connection which makes the customer remember the product better.

Influence Purchase Decision

All these things result in influencing buyers decisions. According to Speed Pro Marketing, when you have all these in place you can expect a spike in your sales. On the other hand, when you neglect proper packaging and branding, the opposite can be expected. So, what do you think? Should you endeavor to have a good packaging and branding on your coffee product or should you just leave it to chance?

Drinking coffee has been the morning tradition for most of us in the world. For some of us, this is the fuel to start the day right and to make everything flow smoothly. Fortunately, there’s a science behind all of this, it’s not just psychological effect that keeps you from being alert and active throughout the day after getting a cup of coffee. In fact, coffee can be called as the ultimate antioxidant and stimulant.

1. Coffee can make you mentally alert. Remember that coffee contains caffeine, a substance known to stimulate and awaken our senses. Did you know that caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world? After drinking coffee, caffeine is absorbed in the bloodstream and from there, it travels to the brain which gives you the unparalleled mental alertness needed for the great day of work. Prior to my work as a blogger, I used to work for North Shore Painter, A Vancouver residential house painting company, coffee was my life line at 7am!

2. Coffee’s aroma alone can get you less stressed. There was a research at Seoul National University where they examined rats which were stressed with sleep deprivation. Those who were exposed to the coffee’s aroma experienced changes in their brain proteins tied to the stress.

3. Coffee is great for your liver. If you are drinking alcoholic beverages, then make sure that you also have a good coffee drinking habit. A study in 2006 revealed that 125,000 people aged 22 and above that drink at least one cup of coffee everyday has 20 percent less risk of developing liver cirrhosis. And remember that coffee is a natural antioxidant.

4. If you want to burn fat, coffee is also a great drink for you. The coffee’s caffeine content can boost metabolic rate by 3 to 11%. There are other studies that shown to increase fat burning by about 10% for obese people and 29% in lean people. But for long term coffee drinkers, this effect diminishes.

5. Caffeine can improve physical performance. We know that caffeine can help in burning fat. However, do you know that it also increases adrenaline levels in the blood? Adrenaline is the one responsible to make bodies exert more physical strength. It is great to have a strong cup of coffee about 30 minutes before getting to the gym.

6. It has been proven to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. There was a 2012 study that revealed a substance found in coffee helps block a substance in the body called human islet amyloid polypeptide. This substance is known to play an important role in the development of diabetes.

7. Coffee lessens the risk of developing chronic diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Diseases and Dementia. Coffee drinkers around the world have shown around 60% less risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and 65% less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
8. Coffee can make you happy. There is a study done by the National Health Institute that revealed that those who drinks four cups of coffee everyday has 10% less risk of being depressed. And it was also revealed that it can reduce suicidal risk by around 50% in both men and women. So keep calm and drink coffee.

Coffee was developed many thousands of years ago in Ethiopia, and its worldwide popularity as a beverage cannot be denied. The idea of coffee in the hair is quite another matter; there is hardly anyone in the world who would think that it would make a good combination, but the fact is that coffee can indeed be good for your hair. I’m on a bit of roll here – you can read my last article about dying your hair with coffee.

Let us take another look.

The discovery of coffee’s benefits for hair is by no means a recent one. Both coffee and tea have been used for centuries in treating hair problems. In the past few decades, much research has been done on the subject of the benefits that coffee can bring to hair. The International Journal of Dermatology (volume 46, issue 1, pages 27-28), an article appeared suggesting that the caffeine in coffee may inhibit the growth of a hormone called DHT, which damages the follicles. It is thought that this hormone is the cause, or at least a major cause, of male pattern baldness.
Dr. Tobias Fischer, a researcher at the University of Jena in Germany, after conducting an experiment on a group of men, all of whom were in the beginning stages of hair loss, called caffeine ”a promising candidate for hair growth stimulation.” In this experiment, he took a scalp biopsy from each of the subjects and placed it in a solution containing caffeine, each in a different amount. Both the average growth of the follicles and the life cycles of the hairs that had been treated with caffeine were revealed to be significantly greater than those that had not been so treated.

A DIY coffee hair treatment formula

Here is a way you can treat your hair with coffee at home. First, make a strong brew, preferably of a dark brand such as expresso, though any kind will suffice as long as it is not an instant coffee, whose additives may damage your hair. Allow it to cool down to lukewarm, then apply it to shampooed and rinsed hair. Leave it in for twenty minutes, then rinse it out.

Taking care of oily hair

Many people have oily hair issues, typically because of an overactive sebaceous gland that produces an excess of sebum. This oily, yellowish substance plays a role in keeping the hair and skin moisturized. When people with an excess of sebum try to shampoo and condition their hair, it does not penetrate very deeply, and brushing and combing it can be rather painful. Dermatologists have come up with an array of formulas for making oily hair easy to combat, often using herbs of various kinds. For instance, there is a degrease shampoo that is made with organic rosemary and basil and can help to keep the levels of sebum in balance. It also relieves itching in the scalp. There are even shampoos that you can use without water!

It comes a point in our lives, when we all have to dye our hair. We need to do this from various reasons – to choose a color that matches better our skin type, to just make a change, or eventually to cover the grey hair. What we also know is that dye is most of the times harmful to the hair and also to the entire body, due to the toxins that are absorbed through the skin. A hair that has been dyed several times until now can become dull; it loses its natural shine; the top of the hairs split; in conclusion, you can say that your hair is damaged. And if it only takes 30 minutes to dye your hair, well, it then takes long years to have it back as healthy as it used to be before. But because we still need to color out hair, we have dedicated this article to natural dyeing with coffee. It is true that what you will get it will be more like a darken hue, than a strong color, but it is still worth considering the alternative.

First of all, as a warning, you have to know that this process is messy, so stick to the bathroom and wear old clothes that you don’t care about.

Now, you need grounded coffee, olive oil, conditioner, a plastic bag, and an old towel.

The first step is to make the coffee – add one cup of water for every spoon of coffee (and make as much as you think you need, depending on your hair length). Then let it cool and while you wait, wash your hair using shampoo only. After the coffee has cooled, pour it into a big bowl. Because coffee will tend to dry your hair, it is best to add a couple of olive oil spoons – this will leave your hair soft and hydrated. As an optional ingredient, you can also add a cup of chamomile tea – this one will eliminate the strong smell of the coffee and will also contribute to the health of the hair. In the end, mix all ingredients and head to the bathroom.

Check out Prime Hair Tools for more tips on hair coloring and hair straightening treatments.

The easiest way to do this is to sink your hair into the bowl and make sure that all areas are being soaked in the mixture. After you have distributed the solution all over your head, wrap the plastic bag around your hair and tie it as not to let the hair fall down. Depending on how much you want to darken your hair, keep the coffee on between 1 hour and a half and 2 hours (or even more, if you can resist).

After this period, wash your hair again. Do it thoroughly, as to wash away all the coffee. If you consider that your hair may be dry, you can apply some hair conditioner too. Well, in the end blow dry your hair, as you always do, and done! Enjoy your new color!

You must know that this method does not offer you a permanent color – this will fade away every time you wash your hair. On the other hand, because it is all natural, you can repeat the process as often as once a week.

Also, the result depends on your natural hair color. The coffee dyeing works best with brown hair – it enriches its color and it makes it darker every time you dye it again.

Now you know how to dye your hair with coffee! You will see that this process is easy, cheap and completely natural.

There are very few things I enjoy more than a good cup of coffee (I think that’s pretty obvious from this site). But there is something extra special about having a sweet snack with the coffee. To have something maybe chewy, maybe sugar-coated before a warm sip of coffee that melts all the delicious chewy, sticky, sugary delightfulness away – mmm, there are few things I enjoy more.

Two of my favorite things to have are actually versions of fried bread. The first is the Zeppole, the other is a funnel cake.

I used to go out to get these once in awhile, but I actually broke down after reading some reviews over at FHQ (www.crispyandgolden.com) and got my very own deep fryer. I picked one of the smaller Presto units because I don’t need a lot of food and I don’t use it a lot.

Anyway, the point of this is that I can now make my very own sweet coffee companions.

The Fake Zeppole

The other day, in an attempt to make Zeppole, I stumbled upon something even great. It basically combined my two favorite things. The batter was a little bit wrong and did not give me the right consistency, so I ended up using a piping bag and piping the supposed Zeppole batter into sort of funnel cake shapes…almost funnel cakes, but not quite. So really we’re talking here about a mid way point between both of these things.

I was skeptical at first, and let the first one stay in for slightly too long. It was pretty good, but a bit crisp and perhaps a slight bit burnt. The ones after that, though, were light, fluffy, crisp, and delicious…I just kept making them exactly that same way because they were so good.

I covered them in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and was in heaven as each bite was washed away with a warm sip of my delightful cup of coffee.

All you need to do to replicate my delicious mistake is make a really off-the-cuff batter. I think I got a few calculations wrong and it made my batter a bit too runny, so aim for a Zeppole recipe but add just a bit more wet ingredients.

Remember to get your coffee brewing before all of this so that the coffee and sweet treats are equally as fresh as you sit and enjoy them.

Once the batter is ready, put it into a piping bag (if you don’t have one, you can easily put it into any sort of bag and cut the tip off of it…or use a spout or expert pouring skills to do this). Pipe a circular shape of batter directly into the hot oil of your favorite deep fry cooking unit. Start with the outer ring then get smaller as you move inwards, and you can zig zag a bit, they don’t have to be perfect.

Leave it in for just a couple of minutes, watching it the entire time to make sure you get the timing right, and then pull it out (safely, with a slotted spoon or the included basket, depending on your fryer). Leave it to cool briefly, then coat it in a sugar/cinnamon mix.

I have always been partial to a bit of cinnamon in my coffee, so this hint of it with the sweet treat was exquisite.

Sounds a bit weird and a bit vague, I know, but you seriously have to try it!

A college student is expected to do a lot of tasks and some students resort to drinking coffee in order to finish these school-related tasks. When I went to school I know I relied on coffee for me to get through my studies! Although quite insignificant when bought one at a time, the accumulated cost of drinking coffee can be surprising and shocking.

In college, students are sometimes given an insurmountable amount of homework and other school requirements. In order to get through these tasks, college students resort to drinking energy drinks or coffee, often spending a dollar or two on branded coffee. While this amount is somehow negligible in the small scale, the accumulated cost of drinking coffee turns out to be quite a significant expenditure, especially for students on student loan.

Coffee is helpful in keeping an individual awake and alert. For college students with a great amount of requirements, drinking coffee helps them finish these tasks in a timely manner. Oftentimes, instant coffee works well with students already. However, to pull all-nighters, students resort to drinking designer and branded coffee such as Starbucks(see how Starbucks Capitalizes on College Age Consumers). On the small scale and computed in the short run, the cost of these designer coffees may not amount to much. Spending $4 for a cup of coffee to help finish a paper may seem reasonable. However, when computed in the long run, the accumulated cost of a regular coffee habit can be surprising. In the span of a year, you may have spent thousands of dollars in sustaining a coffee habit.

How Much Money Do You Spend on Coffee?

If you drink a cup of branded coffee daily, you spend $4 a day, on average, on your daily fix of caffeine. In a week, you spend around $30 on coffee. On average, a college student usually has an allowance of $50 a week. Maintaining an expensive coffee habit at this rate is impossible and at the same time not advisable. While coffee is helpful in finishing requirements, it will be unwise to maintain a coffee habit like so. In the long run, spending $30/week on coffee will lead to a yearly expense of $1500 on coffee alone. This amount alone can help greatly in paying interest of a student loan. Moreover, this amount of money can be spent on more significant and more useful college tools such as textbooks, groceries and even a new laptop. At the cost of $1500 a year, a student can buy the required textbooks for a year or sustain a healthy grocery option for the entire year. In addition, $1500 can already buy some of the most expensive computers and laptops in the market, allowing a student to have access to this advanced technology.

How to Save Money?

5 ways to save money and pay back student loans faster!

Indeed, drinking coffee helps in productivity but there are other options than having to drink designer brands. Brewing your own coffee can save a great deal of money. Buying coffee beans and other raw products to make your coffee from the grocery can help you save up to $100 while sustaining your coffee habit. Indeed, there are ways which you can save money and instead allot it to more pertinent things such as paying for your student loan. With these ways of saving money, you still get to enjoy these mini luxuries such as sustaining your coffee habit.

Coffee is cultivated in all parts of the world from the sandy lowlands outside Charleston, California to the rugged Himalayan Mountains in India. Similarly, there are only few people across the globe who begin their day without a cup of hot coffee. All the varieties of coffee offer

different tastes and therefore, travelers should be willing and ready to accept all the flavors they encounter on the road. In fact, enjoying different varieties of coffee while traveling is as necessary as taking a best travel pillow with you if youwant to maximize the pleasures of your sojourn.

Travellers can actually come across innumerable and unpredictable versions of coffee across the globe. Following lines explain some of the regional interpretations of this extremely popular drink.

United States:

The ink black juice of espresso machine has become an irresistible taste for Americans. However, the legendary ominously tea-coloured and brewed “gas station coffee” is still an indispensible part of American culture. Furthermore, high calories coffees introduced by Starbucks are also gaining popularity in United States. These varieties usually contain caramel, espresso, eggnog, chocolate, whipped cream and other ingredients.

Italy:

Although coffee is native to Africa but nobody does coffee better than Italians. It is actually the birthplace of espresso machine and considered as the lord of coffee world. As a matter of fact, Italy has become analogous to espresso and you can find this drink everywhere whether you enter into unknown café in remote parts of Italy or five star hotels in Milan and Rome. Italy is also a wonderful tourist destination and therefore, visiting sensational places in Italy coupled with traditional Italian coffee will definitely manifold the pleasures. You just need to take a best travel pillow alongside as it sometimes becomes difficult to sleep on strange beds and pillows.

Greece:

Frappe is the favourite version of coffee in Greece. A frappe is actually a fermented mixture of sugar, milk and Nescafé and served over ice. It is actually the ice that make this drink delicious while you are enjoying a hot summer day on Greece islands. The frappe can be taken with or without sugar and this is perhaps one of very few versions of instant coffee that cannot be hated.

Turkey:

Although, coffee is available in Turkey yet their favourite morning drink is chai, a local version of tea. Various versions and associated lattes of cappuccinos and espresso are very common in modern cities like Istanbul whereas Nescafé rules in countryside. Then there is traditional and true Turkish coffee with the ability to surprise you because it is very hard. You also need to note that the “Greece coffee”, “Turkish Coffee” and “Georgian Coffee” are the same version of coffee with different names. It is almost always served with sugar and takes the form of gritty, thick, tar-black juice.

Ethiopia:

People in Ethiopia have been enjoying taking coffee for more than a millennium now. It is the true heart of coffee world and native place of world’s most favourite drink. The traditional coffee, the buna isstill popular and usually prepared in front of guests. The raw red beans are converted into a hot and steamy drink over a period of one hour to prepare this delicious coffee.

Vietnam:

Vietnam is not only a beautiful country to visit, but it also produces a delicious version of coffee. The traditional Vietnamese coffee is sweet and extremely delightful. French introduced coffee in 1800s a

nd locals were very quick to introduce their own versions. The Vietnamese usually serve the coffee over ice after pouring it over condensed and sweetened milk from cans.

Abovementioned are some of the varieties of coffees popular in different countries. No matter which part of the world you are traveling in, you will come across a local version of coffee and to be honest, all of them are delicious and adorable.

There are a lot of myths out there today about coffee and about how horrible it can be on your body. Many people seem to blame Coffee for developing stress, irritability, anxiety, and heart problems. What most people don’t realize is that many of these conditions were probably already prevalent prior to anyone actually picking up a cup of Joe.

What many people in today’s health conscious society don’t realize is that there are many health benefits of coffee that people don’t publicize because of the booming healthcare industry and how much money is made in medication and non-home remedies.
Coffee has become an effective tool in boosting your immune system and recent studies have shown that coffee has a host of benefits including protection against Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and liver cancer. It also has a high content of antioxidants which help boost your immune system and help prevent the likelihood that you might contract some type of random illness including the common cold. It’s important to highlight that anything that modifies your chemical balance, should absolutely be consumed in moderation. Drinking coffee in large doses can have some rather poor health effects, especially in conjunction with a poor diet. As with any fitness supplement, you need to make sure you are eating properly and watching any type of coffee intake and make sure to keep it to 1-2 cups a day for maximum effectiveness.
Another thing that’s of important note is the fact that coffee taken black will allow you to minimize calories and help keep you fit. Coffee doesn’t have any of the natural sugar that orange juice or apple juice carry and in a caloric restrictive diet, coffee can really help you maintain a fit physique. Many bodybuilders and fitness experts start off their day with a cup of coffee when they are restricting carbohydrates – the exact opposite of what they do when they are taking weight gainers to beef up in the off season when they aren’t competing. Fitness experts use the thermogenic properties of coffee to help burn fat effectively and get into competition shape. If done appropriately with a caloric and carbohydrate restrictive diet, coffee can help you drop fat extremely quickly and get into top level shape.

Why Coffee Should Be Part of Your Everyday Routine:

Now that we’ve covered the health benefits of coffee – let’s talk about the main reason you should be drinking it over everything else. Longevity. According to a recent study, coffee drinkers will not only have the health benefits we’ve already covered, but they may live longer! Who doesn’t want to extend their lifespan?
This study covered a 13 year time frame and basically showed that people that consume coffee in moderation had a lower risk of death than others, no matter if they chose decaffeinated coffee or regular strength. This just goes to show that coffee beans carry nutrients that many other foods do not and even if you are adverse to drinking caffeine, you should take a look at picking up some Decaf at your local Starbucks so you can reap the health benefits.

Most of us can be an avid coffee drinker while others are tea lover. The world can be divided into two types, tea drinker and coffee drinker. While both of them have almost the same use, a hot, steaming drink in the morning or afternoon, there is a never-ending debate about which one of them is healthier and better. However, latest research revealed that both of them could be good for you, in different ways.

The first thing that we can notice is that tea seems to be more popular than coffee as in 2007 sales in United Kingdom, tea sold £550,113, while coffee only sold £270,366. However, that doesn’t conclude that tea is better in coffee. There’s a face-off and it’s up to you to determine who wins or who lose.

Coffee

Studies revealed that drinking coffee could prevent type 2 diabetes. It is also revealed that a man over 40 who consumes coffee has a decreased risk of Gout. It also protects the liver against cirrhosis and cancer and those who drinks coffee regularly is less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. It is also said that you’re going to have a reduced risk of dying from heart disease.

In addition to that, scientists believe that those chemicals found in coffee could be used to create new drugs that can cure insomnia and heart diseases. However, there are 1000 chemicals found in roasted coffee contains carcinogens. There are also studies that revealed that coffee decreases blood flow to the heart and it may cause tooth discoloration.

Coffee or Tea?

Tea

There are studies that revealed tea might help prevent type 1 diabetes and it has the ability to slow it down when it develops. When you drink three to four cups of tea a day, you will have lesser chance of heart attack. It also contains fluoride, which is better for the teeth. In addition to those, tea hydrates the body, which is in contrary to dehydration because of its caffeine content.

However, tea may contain pesticides, especially those that aren’t labeled properly. And we know that it contains caffeine, which was proven to increase blood pressure and promote anxiety. It can also lead to anemia due to its high tannin content.

We can see that tea and coffee has their own downsides and upsides. Both can be better for our health, just don’t do it too much.

Milk is one of the most nutritious drinks; however, not all of us can have it. As a coffee drinker initially the news was devastating. Since I was told to stay clear from Milk I’ve tried Almond Milk and Soy Milk.

There are certain limitations such as those people who are lactose intolerant, diabetic or allergic to dairy milk. But there are other alternatives to it, which is as good as the dairy milk such as the almond milk and the soymilk, the most popular dairy alternative.

Almond milk and soymilk are the two popular substitute to dairy milk since the middle ages. They are both recommended for people suffering from lactose intolerance, diabetes, casein allergies, and heart disease. There have been an ageless battle between these two milk products, many debates and studies have been conducted comparing the effectiveness of the two. In general, depending upon your dietary needs or physical fitness goals, one can be advantageous of the other; they have their own upsides and downsides.

The Similarities

At a glance, their nutritional values are almost the same, making it hard to one choose from them. Both of them don’t have cholesterol and trans fat. Both of them offer the same amount of vitamin A containing 10%, vitamin C containing 0%, calcium containing 45% and vitamin B12 containing 50%.

Both of them contain low carb content; however, most of the carb content comes from sugars. Each also has 1 gram of fiber per cup serving.

Though these two looks almost identical, there are differences too.

The Differences

From the same amount of soymilk and almond milk as above, there are differences. Soymilk has 90 calories; 30 calories came from fat; almond milk on the other hand contains less, with only 30 calories of which 25 came from fat. Almond milk contains a gram less of total fat, a quarter of polyunsaturated fat but 50% more monounsaturated fat.

The protein content also varies between these two popular milk alternatives. Almond milk usually has less than a gram of protein while soymilk can have more than 5 grams. In addition, Almond milk does have some nutrients, which are not present in soymilk. Soymilk doesn’t have phosphorus, while almond milk has about 6% of daily-recommended servings; it has also high levels of vitamin E, whereas soymilk doesn’t have. In contrast, soymilk does have more vitamin B due to its high protein content.

Which is Much Better?

Almond milk comes from almonds while soymilk comes from soy, that’s a no brainer. Therefore, the first thing that we need to consider is that are you allergic to the one or another. If you are allergic to soy, then go to almond milk, but if you are allergic to almond, then get soymilk.

If you were over 50 years old, then I would recommend that you get soymilk due to its capabilities. The most common attributes of soymilk is relieving postmenopausal symptoms for women and preventing prostate cancer in men. However, it might cause certain negative effects for people who are still in their reproductive years. One of the alleged side effects of soymilk is that it reduces male fertility and sperm count. If you were to bear a child, it is also recommended that you avoid taking soymilk due to its known interference with progesterone development during pregnancy.

Dave Asprey & Bulletproof Coffee

Dave Asprey is the founder of The Bulletproof Executive and later Bulletproof Coffee. To say the guy has an incredible track record would be a terrible understatement. He’s a silicon valley guy, and from what I hear guys successful in that area of the world are usually really smart.

He reportedly spent $300,000 unlocking his biology. I don’t know what that means, but I do know it’s a lot of money and since then he’s begun building a brand. A brand which has seen celebrities and athletes a like take to “Bullet Proof Coffee”.

The LA Lakers have employed Dr. Cate Shanahan to overhaul their diets. It’s all outlined in this article and it’s pretty compelling stuff. She talks in depth about how Dwight Howard was addicted to sugar to the point where his motor skills fell off. (Maybe that’s why he had such a terrible year?).

An excerpt from that article “Not only are the Lakers unafraid of healthy fats, they practically freebase them. The pregame beverage of choice is something the players call “bullet-proof coffee” — coffee seasoned with two teaspoons of pastured butter and heavy, grass-fed cream.”

And make no mistake it’s not just the Laker’s who are interested in the secret sauce (hint it’s not that secretive at all). I think Dave is onto something here.

So What Is BulletProof Coffee?

Bulletproof coffee is the brand name, it’s supposedly the finest (nutritionally speaking here) coffee in the world. Some folks focus on the taste of the coffee, Dave was interested in the health benefits and toxins found in coffee. With this he spent ten years sourcing the healthiest coffee bean in the world.

So that’s it?

Well not exactly. To make BulletProof the recipe goes something like this.

Bulletproof Brain Octane. This is essentially MCT Oil. MCT oil stands for medium-chain triglyceride. It basically boosts energy over the long haul by releasing slower.

Grassfed Unsalted Butter

Once you’ve got all the ingredients and the coffee is brewed you throw everything in a blender and blend it all up. It honestly creates the world’s best coffee. Personally I drink LULORA coffee. It’s a spinoff of Bulletproof Coffee that doesn’t require bulletproof coffee beans and I use coconut oil instead of grass fed butter.

The idea behind it is a healthier coffee. I like to think of the energy being drip fed into my body as opposed to it being dumped on all at once only to crash twenty minutes later. I personally like the taste better and I feel better as a result.

Coffee & Caffeine

If you’re like 54% of Americans, one of the first things you do every day is get a coffee, or a latte, or an espresso. Some people can’t even function in the mornings without their cup of joe. Americans spend $18 billion a year on coffee. There’s nothing quite like the caffeine in coffee to give you that jolt you need in the morning so you can be alert and responsive. Caffeine has become an integral component of our modern lives. And coffee is just barely scratching the surface. Americans also drink over 13 billion gallons of soft drinks every year, which contain large amounts of caffeine and sugar. Caffeine is a pretty big deal, and it’s also one of the biggest roadblocks to getting a good night’s sleep.

More than 30% of the population suffers from insomnia. There are over 10 million people in the US alone who use sleep aids, like pills or binaural beats to try and solve this problem. And in most cases, this is treating the symptoms of the problem, and not the problem itself. What people fail to realize about the caffeine that wakes them up in the morning, is that that very same caffeine is in large part responsible for keeping them from sleeping.

What happens when you drink a cup of coffee or a soda is that it makes its way into your stomach, is absorbed into your bloodstream somewhere between there and the small intestine, and begins stimulating your central nervous system within 15 minutes. Now, this heightened state of alertness keeps your brain from shutting down and going back to sleep. It also elevates your heart rate, raises your body temperature, and increases your blood flow. All of this is well and good when you have to get that report done by lunchtime, but the downside is that after the initial boost, which your body gets used to, it takes your body over six hours to to eliminate half of that caffeine. Not the whole amount, just half of it. Caffeine can stay in your body for over eight hours.

So, after drinking coffee and soda all day, most people go to bed with all this caffeine still floating around in their system, which causes them to be unable to get a good sleep, or even possibly develop sleep apnea, and then wake up the next day feeling tired and groggy, needing even more caffeine to give themselves a head start on the day. One thing I changed recently, was instead of downing 2 or 3 or sometimes even 4 cups of coffee in the morning I swapped one or two of those cups out for a Green Smoothie. It’s done wonders, it provides a nice burst of energy and I’m not depriving my body of essential nutrients.

You can avoid these negative side effects and improve the quality of your sleep by following these simple tips:

Don’t drink coffee for eight hours before you go to bed

Don’t drink more than 400mg of caffeine in a day (that’s about four 8oz. cups of coffee)

Drink lots of water a couple of hours before bedtime to help flush your system

So if you’ve been having problems sleeping, then try making these changes for one week and see if your sleep improves.